(Daily Mail) The leading Mexican fentanyl exporter to the US has sent a clear order to its cartel members to stop moving opioids into America.
The order comes as the Sinaloa Cartel has expressed concerns about the US law enforcement pressures and future arrests of its top leaders.
A faction of the cartel known as Los Chapitos, the group led by the four sons of the notorious drug lord Joaquín ‘El Chapo‘ Guzmán recently issued the order, according to the Wall Street Journal.
The decision to lay low comes as the Biden administration has pushed the Mexican government to be stricter with the cartel that has been feeding the illegal drug into the country and causing countless deaths.
The newest message from Los Chapitos comes after El Chapo’s sons ordered the murders and kidnappings of street dealers who have failed to comply with a ban on the production and sale of fentanyl.
Since the January arrest of El Chapo’s one son, Ovidio Guzmán, in Culiacán,cartel members have allegedly been killed for disregarding the ordered ban.
An estimated 109,680 overdose deaths occurred last year in the United States, according to numbers from the Centers for Disease Control and Prevention . About 75,000 of those were linked to fentanyl and other synthetic opioids that are pushed from Mexico to the states through cartels
Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán (pictured) is in jail as his sons run the Sinaloa Cartel in Mexico that is known for manufacturing and smuggling fentanyl to the United States, according to officials
Ovidio was extradited to the United States on September 15 and appeared before a federal court judge three days later and pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking, money laundering and weapons charges.
In April, the US indicted the four brothers and two dozen of their associates.
The Wall Street Journal report added the Sinaloa Cartel is also halting its fentanyl production to push the US to crack down on its rival- Jalisco New Generation Cartel.
The Jalisco New Generation Cartel, once known as Los Mata Zetas is run by Nemesio Oseguera Cervantes, another well-known drug lord.
‘Exports of cocaine, heroin and methamphetamine to the US will likely rise in the near future to make up for the income shortfall from the fentanyl ban,’ a cartel member told The Wall Street Journal.
Los Chapitos instructed producers in Culiacán, Sinaloa, to stop manufacturing fentanyl in July, according to Sinaloan investigative outlet Riodoce.
Soon after, the bodies of several men were found with signs of torture and fentanyl pills placed over them, a warning sign to anyone else if they failed to adhere to their commands.
On the morning of June 26, authorities discovered two bodies of men who were handcuffed and shot also in Culiacán. Fentanyl-laced pills were also placed over their bodies.
Two days later, a man was found shot dead with fentanyl pills spread across his back in the municipality of Navolato.
The total ban on the highly addictive opioid has also affected the pockets of dealers, who are no longer seeing their usual illicit profits.
Joaquín ‘El Chapo’ Guzmán’s son, Ovidio Guzmán (pictured), was extradited to Chicago on September 15. He appeared before a federal court judge three days later and pleaded not guilty to drug trafficking, money laundering and weapons charges
Since Ovidio’s arrest, other drug members and leaders are fearful that they might be arrested or extradited to the US. In the past ten days, over a dozen people that are suspected of being involved in the fentanyl community have gone missing or been kidnapped
Los Chapitos, a faction of the Sinaloa Cartel that is operated by three of El Chapo’s sons, had banners set up this week that banned the production and sale of fentanyl. ‘Due to the incessant misinformation of some media and the obvious omission of the government in not investigating and prosecuting the true culprits of this epidemic, in Sinaloa the sale, manufacture, transportation or any type of business that involves the substance is strictly prohibited, known as fentanyl, including the sale of chemicals for its production,’ the large sign reads in Spanish. ‘We have never been nor will we be related to that business.. You have been warned. Respectfully, Chapitos’
